Toyota of Orangeburg. Fairey Chevrolet-Cadillac. Superior Honda/Superior Motors Pontiac, Buick, Jeep, GMC truck. Orangeburg Chrysler/Dodge Nissan. Orangeburg Ford.

The list of Orangeburg dealerships provides the new-vehicle consumer an array of makes and models from the three largest U.S. manufacturers and from foreign-based manufacturers such as Nissan and Toyota.

Coupes, sedans, trucks and sports utility vehicles — local dealerships aim to meet the needs and wants of automotive customers with new and used vehicles.

From years of experience in the dealership industry to a skilled work force, the Orangeburg dealership landscape has been able to adjust to changing times and is looking toward providing service in the future.

How things have changed

Benji Brickle, owner of Orangeburg Chrysler/Dodge Nissan, has been in the automobile dealership business since he was “old enough to remember.” His grandfather, Ben H. Brickle Sr., established the business in 1945.

Beyond selling and servicing vehicles, Brickle says much has changed in the industry beyond an obvious increase in prices.

“You used to be able to buy a TV for half the price of an automobile” and vehicle financing has become the norm, Brickle said.

“When I was a kid, people paid cash for a car,” Brickle said, explaining that in the 1960s in primarily rural and agriculturally based Orangeburg County, farmers would pay for their vehicles once or twice a year when the crops came in.

Industrial development and growth have changed financing methods with loan periods increasing from three years to six years.

“There was no such thing as leasing when I was a kid. Now leasing is a big chunk of the pie in the dealership,” Brickle said.

Bob Richards, owner of Bob Richards Auto Group and Toyota of Orangeburg, said since his father entered into the dealership business in 1968, the choices for customers have spiked as a result of the number of foreign vehicles.

“There are more players,” Richards said. “I think it has improved the quality of everybody’s vehicle and it has been a plus for the customer. The competitive nature of the business has made the automobile a better value today.”

Joe Fairey of Fairey Chevrolet-Cadillac in Orangeburg also comes from a long line of dealership blood. His grandfather, Phillip Fairey, started the dealership in 1926. His father, Joe, led the St. Matthews operation through 1989. Since then, Joe Fairey III has run the dealership.

Fairey would eventually arrive in Orangeburg in 1993 and open on Broughton Street. In 1996, Fairey would open at the current U.S. 601 location.

“The basic business model has not changed,” Fairey said, reflecting on the passage of time. “The advent of the Internet has changed how we promote our vehicles. Customers seem to be more knowledgeable now than they were 15, 20 years ago. I think a lot of that is due to the Internet.”

Jimmy Guthrie Jr., owner of Superior Honda and Superior Motors on U.S. 301 North, has been in the business for about 29 years following in the shoes of his father, who started in 1960.

“We have seen vehicles change and things getting more fuel-efficient as people demand it,” Guthrie said, explaining that change and a more knowledgeable consumer have required dealership staff to be more educated and skilled.

“We have to make sure our sales staff and people are prepared to meet their needs when they do have a question,” Guthrie said.

Today, Guthrie said shoppers can — at the click of a button — look at the dealership’s inventory, employees, awards and dealership specialties.

“It gives the consumer another research tool,” he said.

’Personal touch’

Brickle says that while some things have changed, others have remained the same. He cites the one-on-one relationship with the customer. He says about 90 percent of sales are personal.

“You know the person you are dealing with because you have been in the county and know a friend of a friend,” Brickle said, noting that with the growth of the Internet and sites such as carmax.com, he fears the personal, traditional touch may be lost. “When you still have that personal interaction here, it makes it worthwhile to see a person pick up a new car and to see they are thrilled to death by it.”

“It always ends up one to one,” Richards said. “Most people still like to put their hands on a vehicle and drive it. It is a big purchase.”

Fairey says despite the growth in technology over the years, the dealership takes the approach of “selling one car at a time.”

“Every transaction is a relationship that does not end with the sale,” Fairey said. “It is important to provide the proper inventory and market it in a proper manner.”

Fairey said he sees the size of the Orangeburg market enabling the dealership to continue to provide the personal relationship unlike the larger markets he says are in a “rat race.”

Guthrie said the key to selling vehicles is to provide the consumer a vehicle that suits his or her respective needs or meeting the “niche market,” whether it is a Honda Element or a Pontiac Solstice.

“They don’t want to make a mistake in buying the wrong vehicle,” Guthrie said. “Probably back in the 1960s if a guy’s parents bought a Pontiac, he would buy a Pontiac. Today, customers have more options.”

Guthrie said the key is to maintain customer satisfaction throughout the buying and service process.

Expanding market

Dealers say personal contact is becoming more important as competition from other markets such as Columbia and Charleston increases. Brickle estimates between 10 to 15 percent of shoppers leave Orangeburg to buy a vehicle, compared to about 5 percent 20 years ago.

“Nobody went out of town to buy a vehicle. If you were in competition, you were in competition with the guy across the street,” Brickle said of the past.

“We see a lot of out-of-town stickers in town,” Brickle said of today’s market. “You are being shopped against the dealer in another town.”

But Richards, who has only been in the Orangeburg market for about a year, says he sees many customers choosing Orangeburg over the larger markets.

“Sure some people from Orangeburg go outside and shop, but I think people from Orangeburg like to buy from people in Orangeburg,” Richards said. “When you buy a car, you establish a relationship with a dealer and the dealer is obligated to you. We want to take care of our customers.”

Richards broke ground in early June on a 27,000-square-foot, $3.8 million Toyota of Orangeburg dealership on U.S. Highway 601, near the dealerships owned by Brickle and Fairey. The growth of the Toyota line was cited as the reason for the move.

The dealership is projected to open in the spring of 2007. The facility will house the Toyota-Mazda-Scion lines on approximately 8-1/2 acres, which will include 450 parking spaces. There are also 2-1/2 acres available for future growth.

In August 2005, Richards purchased the Whatley Toyota on Broughton Street

About nine years ago, Whatley was selling about 50 to 60 cars a month. Today, the number of cars sold is 170 to 200 cars monthly. The dealership has ranked among the top Toyota stores in market share penetration in the Southeast.

“The automobile market has been good for the last five or six years,” Richards said. “Interest rates are low and gas is pretty reasonable for the past year or so. People like to drive new vehicles.”

Fairey says the personal touch provided by local dealerships tends to attract vehicle shoppers from the larger markets such as Columbia and Charleston.

“Part of the reason is the selling process,” he said. “They can come here and sit down and talk with us in a less-confrontational situation.”

Guthrie says at Superior, the low turnover in staff helps the customer become better acquainted with employees than at dealerships in a larger market.

“You get to be a lot more than just a number,” Guthrie said.

Out-of-town shoppers also have coincided with a change in the types of vehicles purchased.

Brickle says the dealership tends to sell more used (60 percent) than new (40 percent), which has narrowed from about a 70 percent used to 30 percent new breakdown about 20 years ago. At Toyota of Orangeburg, Richards says new-to-used vehicle purchases are evenly split.

“Both new and used cars are a great buy,” he said.

Seeing the growth opportunity, Fairey reopened a preowned dealership on Bridge Street off U.S. 601 in St. Matthews in August of last year.

About 12 years ago, Fairey Motor Co. left its St. Matthews home of 70 years as part of a dealership consolidation effort.

Today, the dealership sells preowned cars, trucks and sport-utility vehicles. Vehicles are priced between $5,000 and $15,000.

“We sell more used than new,” Fairey said, estimating about 60 percent of the vehicles sold are preowned. “People tend to look for quality in used vehicles. Affordability is a big issue.”

Also, the growth the Orangeburg market also propelled Fairey and Brickle to partner in 2001 to build Orangeburg Nissan on St. Matthews Road between Orangeburg Dodge Chrysler Nissan and Fairey Chevrolet.

The dealership provides a “full line” to all Nissan customers.

Overall, Fairey said vehicle sales have been stable, with even a slight upswing heading into the fall.

“This market is not as volatile as a larger market,” Fairey said, explaining that various incentive programs such as 0 percent financing and rebate opportunities do sometimes spike sales. Other than these times, he said the dealership tends to stay on an “even keel.”

Guthrie credits the diversity of Orangeburg’s market and the arrival of new industries along U.S. 301, particularly at the Orangeburg County/City Industrial Park, with boosting the dealership market locally.

“Orangeburg is trending up,” he said.

Employment opportunities

A recent report issued by the National Automobile Dealers Association estimates there are more than 100,000 jobs available at 20,000 dealerships throughout the nation.

Brickle says the numbers are similar locally.

“Good help is hard to find. I don’t care what business you are in,” he said, noting that automotive technicians “have been harder to come by” in light of availability of less-strenuous jobs. “Technicians are somewhat of a dying breed.”

A survey conducted by Virginia-based Automotive Retailing Today, a coalition of auto manufacturers and dealers, said job openings in sales, management, administration and service are open mainly in the South (17 percent) and Midwest (18 percent).

Experts attribute job-opening increases to an increase in sales, increase in technology, the financing element of the industry, as well as longer business hours and days.

At Superior Honda, Guthrie says openings are available for trained service technicians and in sales.

“It is a fun business and there are a lot of opportunities in it,” Guthrie said. “We are having trouble recruiting people as qualities are a lot higher than they used to be. Other jobs require less hours of work than the car business. People tend to do shopping when they are off work.”

On average, Guthrie said employees will work about 45 to 50 hour weeks. With automobiles being more computerized, the skill level of employees has risen.

“Everyone has to have very good computer skills or the ability to learn them,” he said.

Fairey, whose dealership employs about 38, says while there is job stability at Fairey Chevrolet, technician jobs as well as sales opportunities are something dealerships often need.

“We do have different pay structures for different employees,” Fairey said, noting the business will work with individuals on their respective needs.

The opening of Bob Richards Auto new dealership is projected to bring 20 new jobs. During the transition of ownership, the company was able to retain 50 positions.

“I think Orangeburg is growing and as it grows the automobile opportunities as far as employment will also grow in the area,” Richards said. “Cars are becoming more sophisticated. It takes a much more educated and sophisticated technician today than 20 years ago.”

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